Our Favorite Holiday Recipes

December 22, 2020

Our team shares their favorite family holiday recipes. These are highly guarded or seldom shared and they made the short list of the best recipes we could gather. If you need to bring a dish or you're the host, these recipes are sure to elicit long sighs of satisfaction.

 

Granola Steusel-Topped Sweet Potatoes

“I was a very picky eater growing up and didn't try sweet potatoes until I was well into my 20’s and realized they were a gift from God. I LOVE any form of sweet potato casserole. Reading this recipe, you'll see that there are granola bars in it... Sounds super weird, but the sweet potato comes out super soft and the granola bar gives it a nice little crunch. It tastes like dessert, but you get to eat it with dinner!” - Jacob Sappington, Email Marketing Manager at Bambu Earth

Ingredients:

7 medium dark-orange sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 ½ inch pieces

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

2 Tbsp butter

¾ cup real maple syrup

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup mini marshmallows

1 cup of crunchy granola bars crushed

2 Tbsp butter, melted

2 Tbsp brown sugar

Directions:

1. In 4-quart sauce pan, place potato pieces and add enough water to cover. Heat to boiling; Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook uncovered 15 to 20 min or until tender. Drain and return to saucepan.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. spray 8-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. To potatoes, add whipping cream, 1 Tbsp butter, the maple syrup and salt. Mash with potato masher or electric mixer until smooth. Spoon into baking dish. In small bowl, mix crushed granola, 2 Tbsp melted butter, marshmallows & cinnamon; sprinkle over potatoes.
3. Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated and topping is crisp. 10 servings (1/2 C each).

Holiday Stuffing Recipe

“I got this recipe from my Aunt Theresa who has been making the recipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas for so long that I can’t even remember a time I haven't had it for the holidays. This recipe just reminds me of everything home. Every year my family gathers and we sit down and have this huge dinner and it is just one of the staples that we have had at every year. I swear by this stuffing, it is the most delicious stuffing I’ve ever had and it never disappoints. I’ve had many dear friends of mine over for the holidays and every time, all I hear are compliments on this specific recipe.” - Breaunna Vota, Production Advocate at Bambu Earth

Ingredients:

2 bags cubed herb stuffing (24 ounces total)

2 boxes jiffy cornbread as prepped on box

2 cups chopped celery 

2 cups chopped onion

4 tablespoons cup dried sage (less if you want)

2 teaspoons garlic salt

1 teaspoon season salt

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons pepper

2 sticks of butter

Gizzards from 1 turkey cooked and chopped 

4 smoked turkey necks (boiled for an hour until meat falls off the bone), save stock

1 knorr bouillon cube

Peeled and sliced green apples

Directions:

Dump the stuffing into a large bowl then add prepared jiffy cornbread broken up with hands, add onion and celery. Mix in seasonings, gizzards, turkey meat and green apples. Add melted butter, then heat stock (from neck bones) with the knorr bouillon cube until melted and add to stuffing, stirring till all moist. If too dry add more stock. It should be the consistency of play dough. Dump into a 9x13 pan and pat down, pour ½ cup stock over the top and cover. Cook for 45 minutes. Enjoy.

Lemon Blueberry Scones

“This recipe is special to me because, one,  it's delicious and, two, because it has become a tradition in my family to make these for Christmas morning. Every Christmas my mom makes a bigger breakfast usually consisting of an amazing egg casserole, sausage, biscuits, etc. I have added to this tradition with my lemon blueberry scones. They are a huge hit and the perfect treat to make Christmas morning even more special.

A simple combination of lemon, blueberry and sugar really adds a sweet tradition to Christmas morning. Whether it just be a small gathering of family or close friends, this recipe is sure to bring together some sweet memories. Get your kids involved in the final step of patting in the blue berries and they'll be sure to remember this for years to come!” - Krista, Designer at Bambu Earth

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup milk, I use skim

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 cup fresh blueberries

Glaze:

1/2 cup powder sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Pinch of lemon zest

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Cut the cold butter into smaller pieces and put on top of the flour mixture. Pulse until the butter breaks up into pea size balls.
4. Stir in milk, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest until moistened.
5. To add in the blueberries, pat the dough out on a lightly floured counter and gently fold the blueberries into the dough being careful not to smash them.
6. Then, by hand, form the dough into two rounds about an inch thick. Cut each round once horizontally and once vertically to make four pieces (like a pizza). You’ll end up with eight  triangles total.
7. Place each triangle two inches apart onto a parchment lined sheet pan.
8. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly and drizzle with glaze.

Make the Glaze:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Adjust your lemon juice in order to get the consistency you need: a little more lemon juice for thinner glaze and a little less lemon juice (or more powdered sugar) for a thicker glaze.

Smoked Tri-Tip On Gas Grill (perfect for apartment dwellers)

“I love BBQ but living in a condo without a yard makes it difficult to properly smoke meats using traditional smokers or pellet smokers. Also, having a fairly busy lifestyle makes it difficult to spend 10 hours on a brisket. This tri-tip recipe is the perfect cut of meat when hosting a weekend dinner party. More flavorful than a piece of steak. Cheaper than roasting prime-rib. Much quicker than smoking a 10-hour brisket. This is a perfect simple beef recipe that's easy to do and retains some of the attributes from all the other popular steak dishes. Add a smoke box for an extra sweet and smokey flavor.” -Vince, Master of Ads at Bambu Earth

Ingredients:

Tri-Tip

Fruit Tree wood chips

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat gas grill to 250F. Use a dual zone fire. One side on low and one side off.
2. Insert smoke box with fruit-tree wood chips for that extra smoke and sweetness (optional)
3. Brush olive oil onto meat, then season generously with salt and pepper.
4. Place meat onto grill on the no-flame zone once the smoke box starts to smoke.
5. Cook for 60-90 minutes until internal temperature hits 125F. Replace wood chips as needed.
6. Remove tri-tip onto a plate and turn gas grill on high. Aim to reach 450-500F.
7. Sear each side of tri-tip for ~2.5 minutes, until crust forms.
8. Remove and rest for 15-20 minutes.
9. Slice thinly and serve with the sides of your choice!

We hope you enjoy our favorite holiday recipes as much as we do! Did you make one? Let us know how it turned out in the comments!

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